Ukraine Live Updates: Macron, in Kyiv, Is Undercut by RussiaThe Kremlin rejected reports that the French leader and President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia had made progress toward de-escalation.
Even before Mr. Macron’s plane touched down in Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, Dmitri S. Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, rejected reports that the two presidents had reached any agreement to de-escalate, suggesting that it was the United States, not France, that had standing to negotiate such a deal.
“In the current situation, Moscow and Paris could not make a deal. France is an E.U. and NATO member,” he said, adding: “France is not leading NATO.”